Ink handling apparatus



Aug. 24, 1937. w. s. GUTHMANN 2,091,040

INK HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- @ek/m- Aug. 24, 1937. v

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Eiled Aug. 29, 1954 7 Z v Q 7 fl d Z Patented Aug. 24, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

contacts with the printing plate to apply the ink.

Certain types of inks, particularly the so-called invisible or sympathetic ink of my invention described in my co-pending application Serial No. 741,930, filed August 29, 1934, may be liquid in character and the ordinary inking equipment cannot be used with satisfaction. In a type of sympathetic inkwhich my co-pending application describes, rather complete fiuidity must be maintained if the ink is to penetrate the paperin accordance with its intended manner of use, if the characters applied on the paper are to be entirely invisible when the paper is dry and to appear plainly when the paper is wet.

It is the principal object of my present invention to provide an improved means for feeding such ink and applying it to a printing zplate.

Another object is the provision of an improved inking means of the character set out which may, by simple changes, be adapted to substantially any type of press.

Another object is the provision of improved means for printing with sympathetic inks of the character referred to.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly schematic and partly in section, showing'the apparatus of my present invention as applied to a Miehle type of press;

Fig. 2 showsthe apparatus and portions of the press in a different position;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing one embodiment of the fountain made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the ink transfer rollers; and

Figs. 5 and 6 show details of plates adapted o for printing with liquid inks such as the sympathetic inks described in my co-pending applicaform contact with a printing plate to apply ink thereto, having a solid or semi-solid interior and an outer coating of an absorbent material such as an absorbent fabric. A fountain of special design is provided for delivering ink to the inking roller, this fountain including a reservoir for supporting a body of liquid ink and a plurality of adjustable means for providing drip feed along the length of the :fountain. Means is provided for delivering, transferring, and properly distributing the ink between the fountain and inking roll, all in a manner and with the functions and results which will be pointed out more in detail as the description progresses.

For the convenience of those skilled in the art, I have shown the invention as applied to the wellkn'own Miehle vertical type of press, the parts being shown, however, more or less schematically in order to simplify the showing.

Referring now to the drawings, I show a support Ill for the printing plate or form H, with an inking plate l2 secured thereto, the entire assembly adapted to be reciprocated vertically in accordance with the action of this type of press. A cylinder l3 reciprocates vertically in a direction opposite to that of the plate assembly and is adapted to receive a sheet of paper 14 (Fig. 2)

when it is in its lowermost position, so that this paper is brought into contact with the plate H by theaction of the cylinder l3 when the roller ascends and the plate assembly descends. A form roller l6 moves vertically with the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 2, and is adapted to transfer ink fromthe plate l2 to the form. This form roller or transfer roller is of special design and will be described more in detail hereinafter.

In accordance with the principles employed on this type of press, ink is delivered from a fountain and spread uniformly on the inking plate. I shall now describe the manner in which I accomplish this result in the embodiment shown.

A pair of brackets l'l. (Fig. 3) are mounted on a support I8, rigidly secured to the frame work of the press and forming a part thereof. A fountain reservoir I9 is supported on the brackets H by a pair of straps 2| which extend around the reservoir and have their ends secured by suitable means to the brackets. The reservoir is of generally cylindrical shape and is provided with a' filling cap 22 by means of which it can befilled with a supply of liquid ink. At the lower side of the reservoir, I provide a plurality of drip feed cocks 23 which communicate with the inside of the reservoir and are adapted to be adjusted to allow a small amount of. ink to pass therethrough drop by dr0P- The ink fed from the reservoir is delivered to a transfer felt 24 which is maintained in contact with a fountain roller 26. In the form shown, the felt is carried by the supporting plate l8 along one edge thereof. Since this supporting plate is inclined with the felt supporting edge lowermost, the ink from the cocks 23 readily flows down the incline and is taken up uniformly by the felt 24..

. vibrating movement is not required when a liquid ink is used and the other features of my invention are employed. When the vibrating movement, however, is already provided on the press, it is not necessary to make any changes, but the roller may be permitted to vibrate in accordance with its usual functions.

The ink is transferred from the fountain roller 26 to a distribution roller 29 by means of the vibrator roller 2?, this being accomplished by the movement of the arms 28 about their pivots so as to place the vibrator roller first in contact with the fountain roller, and then in contact with the distribution roller. As the plate is moved vertically, the distribution roller which is in contact with it causes an even. disposition of the ink on the plate. As shown in Fig. 2, when the plate and form assembly move upwardly, the form roller 16 is in contact with the plate and receives a supply of ink therefrom. As this assembly moves down, however, the: form roller comes in contact with the form and spreads the ink on the printing surface provided thereon.

A feature of my invention is the use of a special type of inking roller, it being understood that by inking roller is meant any roller, the function of which is to transfer ink either in one or a plurality of steps from the ink fountain to the form. I show such a roller in Fig. 4. It consists of a center shaft or spindle 3|, a composition roller 32, this composition roller being semi-solid or slightly resilient, such for example, as the ordinary rubber compositions well known in the art. A layer 33 of absorbent material is provided about the roller, this absorbent material preferably being a fabric of uniform texture but having the capacity for absorbing relatively large amounts of liquid. To support the fabric on the roller, ordinary fabric tape 34 is employed which may be the usual adhesive or gum tape often employed surgically and having a coating of adhesive material which, although soluble in such solvents as ether, is not readily soluble in the type of solvents employed in the ink.

When printing with sympathetic inks of the character described in my co-pending application, improved results are obtained by the use of certain devices in connection with the printing form illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 5, I show the use of metal type 34a and, covering the face of this metal type, a curtain of fabric 36. This fabric 36 is preferably thin and has a close, fine weave. Silk is suitable for the purpose. This fabric absorbs a small amount of the liquid .ink so that when an impression is made against the paper, it functions somewhat after the fashion of a typewrite ribbon and 09.11588 an impression at all points where it is forced into firm contact with the paper, by the metal type. At other places, it does not print or, if it applies any of the ink to the paper. it is in quantities which cannot be detected. In Fig. 6, I show the use of a rubber plate 31 secured in the form. I have found that by means of rubber plates, very good impressions are obtained without the use of the cloth type covering. Although sympathetic ink may be used with ordinary metal plates and good results obtained, I find that results are improved by the use of either feature described.

In order that the function of the apparatus described may be somewhat better understood, I shall refer briefiy to the character of ink which is intended for use therewith. As described in my co-pending application, one form of sympathetic ink consists of a solid material such as cellulose nitrate dissolved in a solvent having several characteristics, among them a relatively low vapor pressure. The amount of cellulose nitrate present'is'approximately 1% and in this concentration, the cellulose nitrate is carried readily with the solvent described from one inking member to another. In order to print with the sympathetic ink, distribution must be of substantially the same order as that required for ordinary printing inks. That is to say, the distribution must be uniform and must be such as to allow for differences in the amount of ink applied on a particular portion of the page. As an example, it is well known in the printing industry that if one side of a printed sheet, for example, is relatively dark, it requires more ink and the ink feeding mechanism must be adjusted so as to deliver more ink to the dark side of the form than to the light side. All this must be done while maintaining uniformity in every other respect. By the use of my present invention, all of these functions automatically flow from the use of my improved fountain arrangement and the special absorbent inking rollers. The outer surface of each roller acts as a Wick and even though the ink might be applied thereto non-uniformly, the tendency of the wick is to establish an equilibrium along its surface, so as to result in the presence of the same amount of liquid throughout the length of the roller. If, now, the form is such as to withdraw more ink from one side of the roller than from the other, two things will occur. First, there will tend to be aflow of the ink along the roller toward the portion from which the greater amount of ink is being withdrawn. Secondly, that portion of the roller will also have a tendency to withdraw more ink from the plate or other inking means used for delivering ink to the form roller. This process repeats itself from roller to roller so that even though the fountain is delivering about the same amount of ink throughout its length, that ink in the end will be distributed in the manner in which it is required by the printing surface. Should this compensating action be insufficient in any particular case, the fountain feeds are readily adjustable so as to deliver more ink to the area in which more is required. In regard to the wick action, it should be noted that the felt 24 or other absorbent material used in its place has the same leveling action. It, therefore, is unnecessary to place the rollers that the Miehle press ordinarily employs but modified in accordance with the present invention. On other types of printing presses, suitable modifications may be made. Due to the action of the absorbent material on the outer surface of the inking rollers, I find that it is by no means necessary to employ the large number of inking rollers usually considered necessary for ordinary inking purposes. Indeed I have been able to secure suitable results in some cases by installing the fountain on the press either to feed the plate directly from a single roller or in some cases to deliver the inkdire'ctly to the form roller or an equivalent thereto which in turn applies the ink to the printing or type surface.

Those skilled in the art will understand that even though a very good grade of sympathetic ink is used, made in accordance with the invention described in my co-pending application, in time the ink may have a deleterious effect upon the absorbent covering for the rolls. Ordinary use causes wear as well. By employing the simple fabric type of covering described with the simple fastening means therefor, the outer covering is very easily changed in only a very few minutes time. Moreover, since it may not be advisable to set an entire press aside for use with sympathetic ink at all times, my'invention-permits ready and speedy transfer or adjustment so that the press can quickly be converted to use with ordinary printing inks. This is an advantage in the ordinary print shop in which it is necessary to obtain maximum amount of use out of press equipment.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An inking mechanism for inking a printing plate comprising an ink fountain'including a reservoir for liquid ink, a plurality of adjustable means distributed longitudinally of said reservoir whereby to permit ink to flow therefrom by gravity at a plurality of points,'a felt pad running longitudinally of the reservoir for receiving ink ervoir for liquid ink, a plurality of adjustable means distributed longitudinally of said reservoir whereby to permit ink to flow therefrom by gravity at a'plurality of points, a felt pad running longitudinally of the reservoir for receiving ink delivered therefrom, an inking roller comprising a roller formed of substantially non-absorbent material with an outer covering of absorbent material, and means for withdrawing ink from said pad and delivering the same to said inking roller, saidinking roller being adapted to distribute ink uniformly on the plate.

3. An inking roller of the character and for the purpose described, comprising a roller body formed of substantially non-absorbent material, an absorbent fabric covering extending around the periphery of said roller body, and adhesive strips atthe ends of said fabric for securing the fabric onto said substantially non-absorbent 

